The Coventry University Guide to Referencing in Harvard Style

HOW TO REFERENCE INFORMATION RECEIVED THROUGH PERSONAL COMMUNICATION

 

1. A letter

 

In-text citation

 

Write the surname of the person you are citing and the date in brackets. In your own writing, you may give the full name of the person you are citing as well as the details of the communication.

 

Example

In a personal letter, Androulla Athanasiou explained that she is ‘completely against’ recent moves to erect a new football stadium in Coventry (Athanasiou 2006).

 

Reference

 

Provide the surname and initials of the person you are referencing and the date in brackets. Give the title in italics (you may have to make one up) then write the type of communication in square brackets. State who the communication was addressed to, then give the exact date in square brackets.

 

Example

Athanasiou, A. (2006) Local Development Planning [letter] to Patterson, P. H. [30 May 2006]

 

2. An email

 

In-text citation

 

Write the surname of the person you are citing and the date in brackets. In your own writing, you may give the full name of the person you are citing as well as the details of the communication.

 

Example

In a personal email (Brown 2005), my supervisor explained the key principles of the Harvard referencing system.

 

Reference

 

Provide the author’s surname and initials then the date in brackets, then the title of the email in italics (use the ‘subject’ header or make up an appropriate title). Then write the type of communication in square brackets. State who the communication was addressed to, then give the exact date the email was sent in square brackets.

 

Example

Brown, B. (2005) How to Harvard [email] to Edwards, A. [20 October 2005]